Why is he a Sci-Fi Guy? Quite frankly, Vin Diesel's name is synonymous with action packed Sci-Fi movies from Pitch Black to The Chronicles of Riddick to Babylon A.D to the upcoming new release in June 2009 of the Fast and Furious 4.

Huge, hulking and with a neatly shaved skull and a voice that sounds like granite scraping on granite, New York-born Vin Diesel started his career as a child actor with the Theatre for the New City. After studying English at Hunter College, he began penning screenplays and making films. His short "Multi-Facial" debuted at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and his first full-length feature, "Strays" (1997) premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Written, co-produced, directed and starring Diesel, "Strays" was an ensemble drama about male friendship that many compared (sometimes unfavorably) with 1977's "Saturday Night Fever" and 1982's "Diner".

Huge, hulking and with a neatly shaved skull and a voice that sounds like granite scraping on granite, New York-born Vin Diesel started his career as a child actor with the Theatre for the New City. After studying English at Hunter College, he began penning screenplays and making films. His short "Multi-Facial" debuted at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and his first full-length feature, "Strays" (1997) premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Written, co-produced, directed and starring Diesel, "Strays" was an ensemble drama about male friendship that many compared (sometimes unfavorably) with 1977's "Saturday Night Fever" and 1982's "Diner".

The deep-voiced, muscular actor landed a high profile supporting role as the tough New Yorker Private Carparzo in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed WWII drama "Saving Private Ryan" (1998). After voicing the title character in the delightful--if underperfoming--animated adventure "The Iron Giant" (1999) Diesel got his first taste of leading man success in director David Twohy's cult sci-fi film "Pitch Black" (2000), in which the actor played a convict who, after his starship crash lands on a hostile planet, proves to be the salvation for the survivors. He also was a strong presence in the ensemble of the Wall Street-centered thriller "Boiler Room" (2000), but his true breakout role came with his performance as hard-driving car thief and street gang racer Dominic Toretto (sample dialogue: "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time. For those 10 seconds, I'm free.") in the surprise summer blockbuster "The Fast and the Furious" (2001), in which New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell characterized Diesel as a "slacker Robert Mitchum, if that's not redundant."

In between writing and directing his second feature, "Doormen," based in part on his own experiences as a bouncer at NYC nightclubs, Diesel found time to star in his "The Fast and the Furious" helmer Rob Cohen's action yarn,"XXX" (2002), a box-office bonaza that was routinely panned by the critics but nevertheless solidified the actor's status as an heir apparent to A-list action stars like Stallone and Schwarzenegger; and in the mob comedy, "Knockaround Guys", playing tough-guy Taylor, a young mobster-in-training desperate to retrieve a bag full of stolen cash. Released in 2001 in Italy, under the title "Dangerous Company", "Knockaround Guys", an ensemble film in which Diesel co-stars alongside Barry Pepper, Seth Green, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper, was released in the United States in 2002, in an attempt to cash in on Diesel's high-wattage star power as a result of "XXX"'s healthy box office earnings.

Instead of opting for a big payday on the sequel "Too Fast, Too Furious," which he declined to appear in, Diesel instead opted for features like the crime drama "A Man Apart" (2003), an action-lite tale that offered the actor prime opportunity to emote instead; many critics took minor swings at Diesel's sensitive side, but few could deny his strong screen presence and charisma, even in a middle-of-the-road film. The actor returned to the explosive, big budget world of sci-fi action when he reprised the role of "Pitch Black's" Richard Riddick for Twohy's inflated sequel "The Chronicles of Riddick" (2004). Taking a page from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Diesel next tried to expand his repertoire with a stint at broad comedy in Disney's "The Pacifier" (2005), playing a disgraced Navy SEAL charged with protecting the bratty brood of a deceased government scientist whose enemies are searching for his top secret experiment.

Also Credited As: Mark VincentBorn: July 18, 1967 in New York, New YorkJob Titles: Actor, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Bouncer, Telemarketer (sold lightbulbs)Family
Brother: Paul Vincent. twin; worked on "Paris Is Burning"
Mother: Delora. born c. 1944
Step-father: Irving. Diesel and stepfather are very close; born c. 1935
Significant Others
Companion: Michelle Rodriguez. co-starred in "The Fast and the Furious"; dated in 2001
Companion: Liza Hernandez. rumored to be dating as of March 2003
Companion: Mariah Carey. rumored to be dating as of December 2002
Companion: Pavla Hrbkova. born c. 1984; dating since February 2002; she had a small role in "xXx"; no longer together as of December 2002
Education
Hunter College, New York, New York, English
Milestones
1992 Began writing scripts
1997 Feature directorial debut, "Strays"; also scripted, produced and starred, selected for Sundance
1997 Hired to direct "Nightlife"
1997 Signed by Paramount to a two-picture option acting deal
1998 Featured in "Saving Private Ryan" as the ill-fated Lieutenant Caparzo
1999 Voiced the title character in the animated feature "The Iron Giant"
2000 Starred as Riddick, a futuristic ex-con, in the sci-fi thriller "Pitch Black"
2000 Was part of the ensemble of "Boiler Room"
2001 Had leading role in "El Diablo" (lensed 2000-2001)
2001 Starred as gang leader Dominic Toretto in "The Fast and the Furious"
2002 Had co-starring role in "Knockaround Guys"; released in Italy as "Dangerous Company"; opened theatrically in USA in 2002
2002 Reprised role of Riddick in "Pitch Black 2"
2002 Starred in the action thriller "XXX"
2003 Starred as a DEA agent out to avenge his wife's murder in the action feature "A Man Apart"
2004 Starred in "The Chronicles of Riddick" the sequel to the surprise sci-fi hit "Pitch Black" based upon a story concept by David Hayter
2005 Starred as disgraced Navy S.E.A.L Shane Wolf, who is assisnged to protect the five Plummer kids in the comedy "The Pacifier"
2006 Starred in Sidney Lumet's "Find Me Guilty," as a mobster who successfully defends himself in a two-year trial
Began acting at age seven, appearing with the Theatre for the New City
Directed short film, "Multi-Facial"; shown at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival
Set to produce the cartoon series, "Hannibal the Conqueror" (BET), which he will also voice a military leader